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5/6/2019 MDC President Padrón celebrated at graduation during ‘bittersweet’ send off | Miami Herald
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article229997084.html 1/12
EDUCATION
MDC’s Padrón celebrated by graduating classduring ‘bittersweet’ send off
BY MARTIN VASSOLO
MAY 04, 2019 05:09 PM, UPDATED MAY 04, 2019 06:49 PM
During his final graduation day, Miami Dade College President Eduardo Padrón received a heartfelt sendoff fromthe students and community members Saturday in Coral Gables. He will step down from his position in August
after serving since 1995 BY DANIEL A VARELA
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5/6/2019 MDC President Padrón celebrated at graduation during ‘bittersweet’ send off | Miami Herald
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article229997084.html 2/12
after serving since 1995. BY DANIEL A. VARELA
To the uninitiated, the scene inside Coral Gables’ Watsco Center on Saturday — pulsatingreggaeton music, inflatable glow sticks and a standing ovation — could understandably beconfused for a party, or maybe the Nicky Jam concert that was scheduled for AmericanAirlinesArena later that night.
But once the opening music faded and the fog cleared, it became obvious that the crowd -- andthe thousands of graduating Miami Dade College students -- weren’t cheering on a musical act.They were clapping for their individual achievements, and for a man considered among his peersto be a rock star in his own right: outgoing MDC President Eduardo Padrón.
The hectic and “bittersweet” day marked the final graduation ceremonies Padrón would attendas the longtime leader of the award-winning college. In Coral Gables to see students from theWolfson and Hialeah campuses graduate, Padrón spent the day traveling to four othercommencement ceremonies, basking in the warm reception and speaking with students he saysinspire him everyday.
“It’s been very emotional,” he said in an interview prior to the 2 p.m. ceremony at the WatscoCenter. “In every graduation up to this one, the students surprised me with incredible tributesand wonderful statements of support and admiration, and it’s something that touches my heart.I’m just very grateful for the opportunity that I have had to be here doing what I do. There is nobetter job in the world. To me this is not a job; this is my religion; this is my vocation; this is mysense of purpose.”
5/6/2019 MDC President Padrón celebrated at graduation during ‘bittersweet’ send off | Miami Herald
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Padrón, who joined the MDC faculty in 1970 and rose to the level of president in 1995, isconsidered among his peers as a champion for diversity and accessibility in academia and hasbeen credited with elevating the college to the national prominence it now enjoys.
More than 13,000 students representing 192 nations graduated from MDC on Saturday, saidJoaquin Martinez, president of the Wolfson and Hialeah campuses.
Saturday afternoon’s commencement speaker, international business executive and formerlongtime White House trade policy advisor Solomon “Sol” Trujillo, took time out of his address tothe graduating class of 2019 to congratulate and thank Padrón on his achievements, whichinclude receiving the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“I need to tell all of you that I’ve gotten to know Dr. Padrón over many years, not because I livedin Miami, not because I was in the educational field, but because he was legendary,” said Trujillo,
h i f S l T jill G LLC “H b ildi thi h t Mi i D d th t
Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón, Miami Dade College President, who is retiring after 25 years as president speaks during theMDC’s Hialeah and Wolfson Campuses Commencement Ceremony, at the Wastco Center in Coral Gables, onSaturday May 04, 2019. Pedro Portal [email protected]
5/6/2019 MDC President Padrón celebrated at graduation during ‘bittersweet’ send off | Miami Herald
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chairman of Sol Trujillo Group, LLC. “He was building something here at Miami Dade that wasunique anywhere in our country and maybe unique anywhere in our world.”
Trujillo, who said the love MDC students and faculty have for Padrón was palpable during theceremony’s opening, led the audience in a loud round of applause for the outgoing president, whowill step down officially in August.
Earlier in the commencement, the MDC staff screened a comical graduation-themed video thatprominently featured Padrón’s signature red glasses. In the skit, students across campus arenearly blinded by the pair of glasses, which the college’s shark mascot carries around in amysterious chest. At one point, before a woman led the crowd in “We are MDC!” chants, hisglasses appeared on the large screens above the Watsco Center stage -- a symbol of his uniqueacademic vision -- and the student body loudly cheered for their dedicated leader.
Padrón said before the ceremony that he was content to see his life’s work bear such beautifulfruit. Throughout the county, he said, there is hardly a household that has not been affected in
b th ll d it l i t
Miami Dade College student Ruth Castillo, a 58 years old woman graduating as social worker reacts as she gets aspecial recognition during the 2019 MDC’s Hialeah and Wolfson Campuses Commencement Ceremony, the lastone for President Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón who is retiring after 25 years as president at the UM Wastco Center inCoral Gables, on Saturday May 04, 2019. Pedro Portal [email protected]
5/6/2019 MDC President Padrón celebrated at graduation during ‘bittersweet’ send off | Miami Herald
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some way by the college and its welcoming nature.
Seeing the graduating class of students walk across the stage was satisfaction enough. But theapplause certainly didn’t hurt.
“This year is especially bittersweet for me,” Padrón said. “I know it’s the last one.”
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